Reminder: Check Car Hoods for Cats Seeking Warmth This Winter

The Kentucky Humane Society (KHS) is reminding people to check their car hoods for outside cats seeking warmth this winter, after an injured kitten was surrendered to the nonprofit animal shelter this week.

“In cold weather, outside cats sometimes crawl into car hoods seeking the warmth of a recently turned off engine. A bang on your car hood or a beep of your horn before starting the engine can give cats a chance to escape or make their presence known and can help save lives this winter,” said Megan Decker, KHS Media Manager.

On January 12, KHS received a kitten named Pinecone that they believe was injured by a car’s fan belt. At five weeks of age, this stray kitten was found inside a car engine near Fort Knox KY. KHS believes this is how she suffered nerve damage to one of her legs and a severe wound to her mouth called a lip avulsion, which left a large tear from her lip to her jawline.

A Good Samaritan rescued and cared for Pinecone during her initial recovery. Now eight weeks old, Pinecone is at the Kentucky Humane Society, where she underwent surgery this week to address her lip wound.

Cats – especially community unowned cats – sometimes seek out the warmth of a recently turned off car engine when it’s cold out. If an unsuspecting driver turns on the engine with a cat under the hood, cats can suffer injury and even death from the rotating fan belts. KHS recommends that drivers tap on their car hoods or beep their horns before starting their engines. Home owners can also deter cats from seeking out car engines by building winter shelters for outside cats from Styrofoam bins lined with straw.

Follow Pinecone’s recovery on Facebook.

Want to help Pinecone and other needy shelter animals?

Donations are gratefully accepted at www.kyhumane.org/donate. KHS is a private nonprofit agency, and relies on donations to care for Kentucky’s injured, abused and homeless animals.